(Seychelles News Agency) - Investors who have successfully bid for the first phase of the Victoria Waterfront project, will soon be awarded their lots and can start the process for the development of the area, said a top official on Friday.

The announcement was made by the chief executive of the Seychelles Investment Board (SIB), Anne Rosette, in a press conference in which she said that there will be a cooling-off period until March 6 and bidders who have not been accepted can appeal. If there are no appeals, the successful bidders will be awarded their lots.

The Waterfront Project is aimed at making Victoria, the capital, livelier and is part of the approved Victoria Masterplan 2040. 

A total of 21 submissions have been made for the respective zones and the initial phase of development will extend from the former playground to the Marine Charter area.

The waterfront project will feature five zones with the first being the 5,000 square metres for the Creole Village that will feature a Creole restaurant and entertainment centred around the Creole culture.

Zone B will be an area dedicated to commerce, where it will be divided into three plots of 1,100 square metres each and will feature entertainment and tourism activities.

Zone C has 4,500 square metres and will feature a water park with water-based activities for kids and adults, and the biggest development will be an area that will be reclaimed land featuring a boardwalk, a hotel and other activities.

The request for proposals for the project was launched in October 2023 and the successful bidders include one for Zone A, 11 for Zone B, four for Zone C and five for Zone D.

Zone E, which is an area that has been designed for artisanal kiosks, has received no submissions.

"It has been quite a long process, as we wanted to give ample time for submissions, where we received over 100 expressions of interest, which was then narrowed down to those that were successful," said Rosette.

She confirmed that all bids that have been awarded are for Seychellois investors but they did receive submissions from foreigners as well.

As part of the project, two multi-story car parks are expected to be constructed, which will alleviate the pressures of other parking areas, especially with the waterfront being a pedestrian only zone.

These successful bidders are only part of phase one of this project, which will be at what most people refer to as the old children's playground, while phase two will see the development stretch all the way to the opposite side of the bay, next to the National Information Services Agency (NISA) offices.